Why the 17" MacBook Pro Doesn't Need a Removable Battery

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Why the 17" MacBook Pro Doesn't Need a Removable Battery

In the world of tech blogging, we're apt to complain about what Merlin Mann calls "First World problems", things which only very spoiled nitpickers would ever care about. Exhibit A: The 17" MacBook Pro, announced last week at Macword Expo 2009 (and yes, this is a little late, but I have been stuck in CES hell for the last week).

The most bemoaned feature of Apple's new Unabomber tea-tray is the battery. It offers a supposed eight hours on a single charge, and – thanks to some fancy new charging circuitry – will probably outlast the computer itself. What's not to love? Well, like the MacBook Air, the iPhone and all iPods before it, the new 17-incher has a non user-replaceable battery. This is what is making grown adults froth at the mouth with seething, red-eyed anger.

And they're talking nonsense. Here, for example, is the main argument against a sealed-in battery: You might want to use the machine on an airplane. What?! Tell me, Gadget Lab reader, upon which plane you might be able to use a 17 inch behemoth like this? Netbooks sit great on the economy class seat trays. A 15" MacBook Pro is pushing the limit. You wouldn't even fit a 17" "laptop" on the tray, let alone be able to open it.

What about business class, you say? As far as I know (which isn't very far – I always turns right when I board a plane) all business class seats have power outlets, so you could use a computer with no battery. Verdict: This theory is bogus.

Sure, it's up to us gadget bloggers to call out the crap that we see, but we also have a responsibility to think a little before we open our mouths.